Date: August 4, 2003
Grade Level: Adult/Continuing Education
Subject(s):
Duration: Two 75-minute sessions
Description: A training activity to teach participants how search engines might help them with their daily work.
Goals: To teach participants how search engines work and to familiarize them with efficient searching strategies for making their life at work easier.
Objectives: Students will be able to efficiently search the World Wide Web using Internet search engines.
Materials:
Lesson Activity #1 (Introduction)
:
Start introducing the topic with a real life situation, for example: "You have a very important meeting with a CEO and s/he asks you to provide her/him with some numbers regarding a current market analysis. You know that the information was published a couple of weeks ago, but you don’t know which newspaper or magazine it was and what the date was." Starting with this problem, facilitate a discussion of participants to figure out how "searching on the net" might help them in such a real life work emergency. In doing so, try to get the answers to questions such as what a search engine is, what search engines can and can not do for you on the Web, what are the differences between search engines and directories, and etc. As the discussion continues, provide a demonstration of different search engines, tips, and strategies. In your demonstration, emphasize the differences between key word searching and browsing through subject indexes (i.e. Yahoo).
Search engines to be used in the demonstration:
* Yahoo!
http://www.yahoo.com
* Google
http://www.google.com
* Vivisimo
http://www.vivisimo.com
* AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com
* Excite
http://www.excite.com
For supplemental information on how search engines work, how to plan effective searches, and how the top search engines compare with each other, refer participants to The Spider's Apprentice at http://www.monash.com/spidap.html and Search Engine Watch at http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2168031 .
Lesson Activity #2
:
Go back to the problem you introduced in the beginning of the class. Brainstorm a list of keywords, word combinations, and categories you might use in your search to get to the results for the given problem. Make a demonstration of a sample search based on your discussion, using one of the search engines provided above. During the demonstration, sometimes purposely make mistakes and expect the participants to realize the mistakes and remind you about how the search should have been done properly. During this demonstration, emphasize the following items:
In addition, talk about how Metacrawler ( http://www.metacrawler.com ) and Dogpile ( http://www.dogpile.com ) search multiple search engines. Discuss that different search engines have different strategies for which site comes up first, so searching multiple engines or using Metacrawler/Dogpile can be a good strategy. Also, make clear that some things can't be found in a search engine because they do not go "deep enough" into sites. Demonstrate some different examples: For example, searching for "cheap airfare from Chicago to London" will not search the travel sites for today's prices. Similarly, searching via other sites might also give better results. For instance, if you want to check prices on computer products, a search on Pricewatch ( http://www.pricewatch.com ) gives more info than one on Google. However, make sure that participants understand how to reach the direct sources of information by utilizing search engines.
Lesson Activity #3
:
After the discussion based demonstration, let participants review a couple of web based tutorials on "searching on the net." Challenge them to learn different aspects other than the ones provided during the demonstration, and have them share the new information with the class.
The following web sites provide tutorials on developing searching skills on the Internet:
* Step Zero: What to Do Before Searching
by Bernie Dodge
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/stepzero.html
* Four NETS for Better Searching
by Bernie Dodge
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm
* Finding It Online
A comprehensive tutorial by Debbie Flanagan
http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/main.html
Lesson Activity #4
:
Divide the group into four teams. Assign each team with one of the search engines listed earlier. Distribute handouts that map the details of a search process where the searcher tried various different methods to come up with a solution to the job problem introduced in the beginning of the class. [
Author's Note:
Instructors need to prepare these handouts before class time -- pretending several scenarios that the searcher could not come up with an effective result.] Ask them to work with their team members to review the steps of the search that is conducted and figure out what was wrong and which other strategies could have led the searcher to a more effective result. Encourage them to conduct a new search as well as duplicating what the handout says for a sound critique. Ask the groups to record on the handout the strategies they used to find the items, the name and address of the Web sites where they find them, and any other comments about their searches as well as the comparison and their critiques. When they are conducting their searches, walk around and coach the participants and/or facilitate their solutions into new perspectives as necessitated. Intervene when necessary to make sure that they utilize what they learned during the previous demonstration and discussion session. Also, encourage students to refer to the tutorials provided in the previous activity when they need help.
Lesson Activity #5
:
After 45 minutes, or when most teams have finished, bring the teams together for a group discussion. Ask them to compare the Web sites where they found each item and to discuss and compare the different search strategies they used. Listen to their critiques on the previous search strategies mapped on the handouts and encourage them to learn from each others’ experiences. As there will be different approaches to reach to the same result, have them realize that there is no unique way to use search engines. Besides, not all search engines are alike and each has its strong and weak points, depending on the type of search intended. Refer to a web page that makes a detailed comparison of search engines’ features and provides links to critiques of the individual search engines.
For a comparison of search engines use the following site:
* Search Engine Features Chart
http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/features
Encourage participants to review those pages in detail later to find out the most optimal search engine for their preferences and the nature of the problem they will be searching for. Also, if they did not explore during their team work, talk about "advanced search" and have a look at the advanced features of a couple of popular search engines all together (e.g. Google has a number of features such as looking at cached pages).
Lesson Activity #6 (wrap-up)
:
Make final remarks about the overall session and your observations. Since they worked on a real life problem directly related to their jobs, have them relate this problem and the activity to a job responsibility. Conclude by asking them how they benefited from an Internet search, how could have they benefited more, and what kind of advantages it might bring to their everyday work or even life outside of work. In the end, ask if anybody had to solve a job related problem in the past that was really difficult but could have been much easier and effective if they knew how to use search engines effectively. Let them share these experiences with the class. Encourage them to join a discussion group and share experiences with peers after class, too. Also, remind them that they can further benefit from these discussion groups or even initiate one for their specific purposes.
Direct students to Yahoo! Groups ( http://groups.yahoo.com ) to find an appropriate group or initiate one for themselves.
Assessment: Teacher observation and classroom discussions can be used to assess students' search skills.